The targeted SMAC mimetic SW IV-134 augments platinum-based chemotherapy in pre-clinical models of ovarian cancer.

Background: Ovarian cancer is initially responsive to frontline chemotherapy. Unfortunately, it often recurs and becomes resistant to available therapies and the survival rate for advanced and recurrent ovarian cancer is unacceptably low. We thus hypothesized that it would be possible to achieve more durable treatment responses by combining cisplatin chemotherapy with SW IV-134, a cancer-targeted peptide mimetic and inducer of cell death.

Is hormonal therapy after risk-reducing salpingo-oophorectomy associated with an increased risk of malignancy in pathogenic variant carriers?

Objectives: This study aimed to assess the association between hormone replacement therapy and the incidence of subsequent malignancies in patients who underwent risk-reducing salpingo-oophorectomy and had mutations predisposing them to Müllerian cancers.

Methods: This Institutional Review Board-approved retrospective study was performed at five academic institutions. Women were included if they were age 18-51 years, had one or more confirmed germline highly penetrant pathogenic variants, and underwent risk-reducing salpingo-oophorectomy.

Modified frailty index is predictive of wound complications in obese patients undergoing gynecologic surgery via a midline vertical incision.

Objectives: There are limited methods to identify which obese patients will experience wound complications after undergoing gynecologic surgery. We sought to determine the association between frailty and postoperative wound complications and to develop a prediction model for wound complications in this patient population.

Methods: We reviewed prospectively collected data of obese patients undergoing laparotomy though midline vertical incisions from 7/2013-3/2016.

Type II endometrial cancers with minimal, non-invasive residual disease on final pathology: What should we do next?

There are minimal data regarding the management of high risk endometrial cancer histologies lacking invasive disease on the final pathology specimen. This study examines a cohort of these patients and assesses outcomes including time to recurrence and risk of death after management with and without adjuvant therapies. Endometrial cancer patients with minimal or no remaining invasive disease on final pathologic specimen from 1995 to 2010 were included.

Inpatient management of hypercalcemia portends a poor prognosis among gynecologic oncology patients: A trigger to initiate hospice care?

We aim to describe survival outcomes of gynecologic oncology inpatients treated with intravenous bisphosphonates for hypercalcemia and develop a risk stratification model that predicts decreased survival to aid with goals of care discussion. In a single-center, retrospective cohort study of gynecologic oncology patients admitted for bisphosphonate therapy for hypercalcemia. Survival from hypercalcemia to death was assessed by Kaplan-Meier method and log-rank test.

Palliative Care in Gynecologic Oncology.

The integration of palliative care and hospice into standard gynecologic oncology care is associated with cost-savings, longer survival, lower symptom burden, and better quality of life for patients and caregivers. Consequently, this comprehensive approach is formally recognized and endorsed by the Society of Gynecologic Oncology, the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, and the American Society of Clinical Oncology. This article reviews the background, benefits, barriers, and most practical delivery models of palliative care.

Association between body mass index and surgical menopausal symptoms in patients with early stage endometrial cancer.

Objectives: Premenopausal women may undergo surgical menopause after staging for their endometrial cancer. Our aim was to determine the association between body mass index (BMI) and surgical menopausal symptoms.

Methods: We report a retrospective review of endometrial cancer patients whom underwent menopause secondary to their surgical staging procedure.

Gynecologic Oncologists' Perceptions of Palliative Care and Associated Barriers: A Survey of the Society of Gynecologic Oncology.

Objectives: Gynecologic oncologists frequently care for patients at the end of life with the aid of palliative care (PC) specialists. Our primary objectives were to identify perceived barriers to integrating specialty PC into gynecologic cancer care.

Materials And Methods: Members of the Society of Gynecologic Oncology (SGO) were invited to participate in an anonymous online survey.

National Cancer Database Report of Lymphadenectomy Trends in Endometrial Cancer.

Objectives: Lymph node involvement has a significant impact on prognosis that may direct adjuvant therapy. The role of routine lymph node staging (LNS) is controversial given conflicting results in multiple studies. Our aims are to describe treatment patterns of LNS, identify factors impacting LNS, and quantify the contemporary trends.

Anti-angiogenesis therapy in gynecologic malignancies.

Anti-angiogenic agents are an important adjuvant treatment strategy in gynecologic cancer. Bevacizumab was recently approved for use in advanced cervical cancer and platinum-resistant ovarian cancer. The overall survival advantage bevacizumab confers in advanced cervical cancer prompted a paradigm shift in the standard of care for this disease.

Sentinel lymph node mapping of a breast cancer of the vulva: Case report and literature review.

Ectopic breast tissue is rare and typically presents as an axillary mass. Previous reports have identified ectopic breast tissue in the vulva, but malignancy is exceedingly uncommon. We present a 62 years old with locally advanced breast carcinoma arising in the vulva demonstrates the utilization of sentinel lymph node mapping to identify metastatic lymph nodes previously unable to be identified via traditional surgical exploration.

Cytoreductive surgery and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy for recurrent ovarian carcinoma: analysis of 30-day morbidity and mortality.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate morbidity and mortality associated with cytoreductive surgery plus hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) in patients with ovarian, fallopian tube, and primary peritoneal cancer.

Methods: A retrospective review of patients undergoing cytoreductive surgery plus HIPEC from 1 January 2007 to 29 July 2013 at two academic medical centers was performed. Grade 3/4 complications (National Cancer Institute's Common Toxicity Criteria version 4.

Intraperitoneal chemotherapy from Armstrong to HIPEC: challenges and promise.

The treatment of advanced stage ovarian, primary peritoneal and fallopian tube cancer represents a therapeutic challenge as evidenced by the 70 %-80 % recurrence rate. Our understanding of the synergy between surgical cytoreduction and effective systemic chemotherapy continues to evolve, with research supporting maximal cytoreductive effort followed by intraperitoneal chemotherapy. Specifically, analysis of phase III clinical trials has shown a median survival of 110 months in those treated with intraperitoneal chemotherapy, when surgery results in no visible residual disease.